In Vistas and Viewpoints at Winchester Cultural Center, Bobbie Ann Howell uses the delicate process of paper cutting to create works reflecting a traditionally rugged desert environment that is itself becoming increasingly delicate.

Using photography and cut paper, the Nevada native examines her homeland from varying perspectives. Aerial images capture dry, mountainous terrain. Landscape images contrast and link the developed and untouched sceneries. Symmetrical cut paper designs, a centuries-old technique known better today as “snowflakes,” expand and flower into repeating patterns of Joshua trees, horses, peacocks and other wildlife. Royal-blue silhouettes of ornate and perfectly postured showgirls pose, arms extended, between horned lizards adorned in their own angular and protective spines and horns.

Howell uses the lines and patterns of the desert terrain in cut paper drawings (similar in marking to that of block prints), resulting in abstract and representational works. Colors reflect the multi-hued desert sky found at sunset. In Vistas and Viewpoints, Howell captures the delicate nature and defiant spirit of Nevada. It’s an exhibit that has viewers looking at the region from the outside while standing amid its natural and cultural wildlife.

Vistas and Viewpoints Through March 14, Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Winchester Cultural Center Gallery, 455-7340.